Solar Power Helps Food Service Distributor Cut Rising Energy Bills

The North East’s largest independent food service distributor has shaved almost 15% off its energy bills after installing a solar-powered electricity system at its Blaydon site.

Tyneside Foodservice, which supplies frozen meals, chilled foods, desserts and drinks across the region, wanted to find a way of reducing its annual energy bill, which topped £75,000 this year.

The family-owned firm, which has been established in the region since 1979, introduced several energy-saving measures after seeking advice from cost management specialist Great Annual Savings Group, which helps companies to control their variable business costs.

The measures included the installation of energy-efficient lighting at the company’s Blaydon site, as well as a new 50 kilowatt solar photovoltaic system which captures energy from the sun and converts it into green electricity.

Steve Walton, managing director of Tyneside Foodservice, said: “Although wholesale energy prices have fallen recently, the benefits generally haven’t been passed on to customers in the form of lower bills. The cost to companies such as ours can be significant so we wanted to find ways that would lessen the burden.

“We’ve worked with Great Annual Savings Group for two years now using their energy procurement, energy management and insurance services and we’re absolutely delighted with the results. We’ve reduced the amount we pay for our power and improved our carbon footprint through the installation of efficient lighting and solar PV systems.

“Overall, we’ve saved around £20,000 on our energy bills – a sum of money which has enabled us to improve our bottom line.”

Mark Jones, head of business solutions at Great Annual Savings Group, said: “We are now operating in an era where cost control has become just as important as chasing turnover and new business. In the last couple of years we’ve helped Tyneside Foodservice and dozens of other companies to save money in a range of areas including energy procurement, energy and water cost management, fire safety, telecoms and insurance.”

Tyneside Foodservice is among many companies that have invested in green energy to cut costs, improve security of supply and reduce the carbon footprint. According to a new report by business electricity supplier SmartestEnergy, UK firms spent more than £400m on renewable measures last year – a rate of more than £1.1m per day.

In the North East region alone, £27m was invested in 18 onsite green projects which together are capable of generating more than £10m of electricity a year – enough to power 55,000 households.